Stoma drainage appliance

ABSTRACT

A stoma drainage appliance comprising a face plate comprising an inner aperture adapted to surround a stoma of any size and an inner recessed circumferential shoulder in such aperture having a lip protruding into said aperture, and aperture size reducing means having resilient locking means adapted to releasably fit about said protruding lip so as to form a fluid-tight seal between said plate and said reducing means and an opening therein of a size smaller than that of said aperture.

STOMA DRAINAGE APPLIANCE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common practice after ostomy surgical procedures, such as an ileostomy or colostomy, to provide appliances attached to the body to collect the discharge from the stoma that has been formed. Such appliances commonly include some means, usually a flexible plate with a central opening, placed about the stoma to which is attached a pouch or bag into which material (such as fecal matter and/or urine) from the stoma is discharged. There has been some difficulty with such prior art devices because of the leakage of waste material from around the stoma. This causes skin irritation and can lead to infection in addition to aesthetic problems such as odor. Thus, it has been essential that the face plate fit properly about the stoma and cover the area therearound to prevent this leakage.

Proper coverage has not been possible with the appliances now used because the stomata formed vary in size and the single size opening in the face plates is not capable of covering such varying size stomata. This problem exists even with the stoma of a single patient. Stomata, immediately after surgery, are swollen, and as a patient heals, the stoma shrinks in size. In order to obtain the proper coverage of the stoma while preventing the irritation, infection, and aesthetic problems noted, it has been necessary to provide a wide variety of face plates having openings of differing sizes. This, of course, has been commercially undesireable because it requires a large inventory and is costly to the patient.

Attempts to overcome the problem of variation in stoma size have included use of face plates of varying size openings, such as described in US; Pat. No. 3,577,790, and face plates with but one size opening to which are affixed other plates which act to restrict the opening in the first plate. Such a system is disclosed in the Warren et al. article, pages 555-567, Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, November, 1951. This latter approach, while narrowing the opening in the face plate for a proper flt about the stoma, is unsatisfactory in'that it does not lend itself to forming a fluid seal between the face plate and the insert without permanently attaching the insert thereto. If the stoma further changes in size, a new face plate as well as adapter plate is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A stoma drainage appliance has now been found in which the face plate can be used with any size stoma and the opening in the plate can be quickly varied in size while retaining the same face plate and having a fluid-tight seal.

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a stoma drainage appliancecomprising a face plate, preferably flexible, comprising a body portion having an aperture therein adapted to surround a stoma, an inner recessed circumferential shoulder in said aperture, and a lip extending from said shoulder into said aperture; and an aperture insert comprising a disc seatable on said recessed shoulder with its upper surface in planar alignment with the upper surface of saidbody portion, an opening through said disc in fluid flow communication with said aperture but smaller in size, and locking means depending from said disc and adapted to releas- Y 2 ably engage said lip to form a fluid-tight seal between said face plate and said aperture insert.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS face plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention will be described in connection with the drawings wherein there is shown a stoma drainage appliance 10 comprising a face plate 11, an aperture insert 12, and a pouch 13.

The faceplate 11 comprises a body portion 14 having a smooth upper surface 15 which can be shaped to conform to the contour of the body portion to which it is to be attached. The face plate is preferably integrally formed and flexible. It can be made by molding of plastic material, preferably polyethylene, so as to render it flexible. The face plate 11 has a centrally disposed aperture 16 having an inner recessed circumferential shoulder 17 which is adapted to receive an aperture insert 12 as hereinafter described. The shoulder has a lip 18 extending therefrom into the aperture 16 and an outwardly flaring skirt 19 extending therefrom. The bottom surface 20 of the body 14 is also provided with hook means 21 to which can be fastened conventional means, such as a strap or belt (not shown) which are used to help support the appliance when placed on the body of the patient.

' The aperture insert 12 comprises a disc 23 having an opening 24 therethrough with resilient locking means 25 depending from the under surface 26 of the disc. Such locking means 25 include an annular flange 27 depending from the disc 23 with a retaining tongue 28 extending outwardlyfrom the outer end of the flange. The disc 23 and flange 27 are of a shape and size such that when the insert 12 is placed in the aperture 16 of the face plate 11 the top surface 29 of the disc 23 will be in planar alignment (flush) with top surface 15 of the plate 11 and the flange 27 will conform to the size and shape of a portion of the lip 18 with the tongue 28 locking about the bottom of the lip 18. Preferably, the sizes are such that the insert 12 snap-fits into the aperture 16. This acts not only to lock the insert in the face plate but also forms a fluid-tight seal to prevent any drainage material from the stoma from seeping between the insert 12 and the face plate 11. In order to permit the resilience necessary to snap-fit the insert 12 into the aperture 16, the insert 12 is preferably integrally formed of the same plastic material, polyethylene, as the face plate 11. Although tightly snap-fit into the aperture 16, the insert 12 can be removed by flexing the face plate which causes the insert 12 to pop out.

As shown in FIG. 5, a container, or pouch 13 is attached to the skirt 19 to receive the discharge from the stoma. The pouch 13 has a hole of a diameter smaller than that of the outer edge of the skirt 19. The pouch 13 is made of an elastic material, such as rubber or plastic, and the hole 30 therein stretched to fit over the outer edge of the skirt. A collar 31 is provided to assist in placing the pouch 30 onto and removing it from the skirt 19.

What is contemplated in the instant invention is a series of inserts 12, as illustrated in FIG. 3, all having the same disc, flange and retaining tongue size and shape, but varying as to the size of the opening 24 therein which is always smaller than the aperture 16. As the stoma size for an individual patient changes, he can use the same face plate 11 and need only snap-out the old insert 12 and replace it with an insert with the proper size opening. In this manner, the patient will always be assured of a proper size face plate fitting about the stoma thus minimizing any possibility of irritation and infection. Equally important, the hospital or other facility in which such stoma drainage appliances are used need only maintain one size face plate and utilize the proper insert for the patient while he is in the hospital.

As depicted, the face plate 11 is generally oval in shape and the aperture 16 therein and the opening 24 in the insert 12 are generally circular in shape. It will be evident that the particular shape of the face plate and the openings is immaterial, the only limitation being that the opening in the insert will be of such a shape so as to best conform to the stoma to insure proper fit of the appliance and that the insert 12 and aperture 16 mate to form a fluid-tight seal.

While the invention has been'described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular form set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A stoma drainage appliance comprising a face plate comprising a body portion having an aperture therein adapted to surround a stoma and an upper surface adapted to contact the wearer's body, a recessed circumferential shoulder in said aperture depending from said upper surface, and a lip extending from said shoulder into said aperture; and an aperture insert comprising a disc seatable on said recessed shoulder with its upper surface in planar alignment with the upper surface of said body portion, an opening through said disc in fluid flow communication with said aperture but smaller in size, and locking means depending from said disc and adapted to releasably engage said lip to form a fluid-tight seal between said face plate and sait aperture insert.

2. The appliance of claim 1 including an outwardly flaring skirt extending from said shoulder, a pouch attached to said skirt, and wherein said locking means comprises an annular flange depending from said disc and a retaining tongue extending outwardly from the bottom of said flange.

3. The appliance of claim 2 wherein the face plate and aperture insert are each integrally formed of polyethylene.

4. The appliance of claim 2 including hook means depending from the bottom surface of the body portion. 

1. A stoma drainage appliance comprising a face plate comprising a body portion having an aperture therein adapted to surround a stoma and an upper surface adapted to contact the wearer''s body, a recessed circumferential shoulder in said aperture depending from said upper surface, and a lip extending from said shoulder into said aperture; and an aperture insert comprising a disc seatable on said recessed shoulder with its upper surface in planar alignment with the upper surface of said body portion, an opening through said disc in fluid flow communication with said aperture but smaller in size, and locking means depending from said disc and adapted to releasably engage said lip to form a fluid-tight seal between said face plate and sait aperture insert.
 2. The appliance of claim 1 including an outwardly flaring skirt extending from said shoulder, a pouch attached to said skirt, and wherein said locking means comprises an annular flange depending from said disc and a retaining tongue extending outwardly from the bottom of said flange.
 3. The appliance of claim 2 wherein the face plate and aperture insert are each integrally formed of polyethylene.
 4. The appliance of claim 2 including hook means depending from the bottom surface of the body portion. 